Heading out for some Snorkeling...

Everyone went snorkeling on the boat yesterday, but since I didn't get to go with them, I'm going today! I'm taking a longtail boat (the wooden ones) to 4 islands across from Panong Beach. Apparently the water is crystal clear and there are millions of fish! Be back in about 6 hours!

A Day in the Life With a Local

After eating my Thai Pancakes, I saw Bob Marley. He said, "Swimming?" I replied, "Yep." He said, "Wait 2 minutes. I go" ... and the rest is history!

It was so much fun hanging out with him because he knew EVERYONE (including all the tourists!) He kept wanting to take care of me and bought me this cocount, so I could try the juice, and wouldn't let me carry anything. He is quite the gentleman. I met an older canadian couple at this beach, who has come back every year for the past 20 years and knows Bob really well. They said I was very lucky to have him show me around for the day! :)

One of the many fruit/food stands on the sand

In order to get to the beach, you walk along a long path that runs alongside a cliff of caves. It's soooo beautiful.

Me at Panong Beach (Krabi area) - still very white... since it was technically my 1st time at the beach since I've been here! I'm working on that though...

Bob at Panong Beach


Young guys come by every couple minutes to sell food and drinks for VERY CHEAP!

Yes this is where I swam yesterday!

This little guy was probably 8 or 9 years old, selling coke and beers. I felt really bad for him, but theny realized he actually seemed to be enjoying himself.

Bob got me some grilled corn from this guy! It was the best corn I've ever tasted, hands down... and it was grilled on the beach! Can't get better than that.

After the beach, Bob took me to see the monkeys! Since he's a local, he knows where the monkeys live! We didn't end up spotting any, because they were all sleeping, but this morning we are going to see some at the beach. Apparently, they all hang out there in the mornings!


One of the beautiful pathways in the area... Everytime we would walk by a bush of flowers, he would pick one and put it in my hair and then smile and say, "beautiful." It was very sweet!

Some of the huts where the locals live in Railay.


This is a real Diamond Cave that Bob showed me. Behind me are real diamonds! If you click on this picture, you can see them sparkling!

This is kind of random, but I found this cigarette box and had to take a picture. How disgusting is that?!

After the monkeys, bob took me to his friend No-n's house (tree house where he lives). He was teaching Kim (a girl I met earlier in the morning) how to make a hemp anklet. She is from Chicago but has been traveling all over for the past year. She just spent 3 months volunteering in India.

I found this leaf in the jungle around No-n's place. I thought it was painted... but nope, this is it's natural form. Beautiful, huh?!

Bob and No-n made me a black coral bracelet by hand! It took them 45 minutes and it involved a flame, a wrench, and a huge blade to cut it. The people here are so darn resourceful... If they want a bracelet, they don't buy it, they make it!

This is No-n's cat, which is really more like a dog! Her name is "People." haha

We hung out at No-n for a couple hours and all started getting hungry, so the guys cooked dinner... It was such an unreal experience! Talk about living a day in the life of the locals! Here it is folks! Dinner, cooked on a fire in the jungle.

Mmm... mmm... Home cooked Thai food!

San (Bob). No-n, and Kim on the deck of No-n's tree house...

A real life banana tree!

I found this little guy hanging out near the beach...

I finally found everyone! I just happened to be walking by Jess and Carlos's hut, and Carlos was hanging out on the deck! It was awesome... This is a VERY small town, so it's easy to find people. :)

After dinner, I met up with everyone near the water where there is a strip of local bars and restaurants. We went to an Open Mic Night at one of them...

The night life here is awesome, because everyone just chills out on mats and talks about their travel adventures! I've been able to meet so many awesome people! The 2 guys on the right are guys who everyone met on their boat excursion yesterday. Morgan, on the far right lives in San Fran and is a hip hop artist. We went to watch and support him do his set!

Morgan...

There were a couple Thai locals spinning fire at a local bar on the water... It was really cool.

The gang... finally together again! Maria (Kristen's friend from Florida) and Gino (Jess's little brother) have been awesome additions to have around!) I still can't believe I actually found them, just by e-mails... To the right is the water, and above us were millions of stars... This place is unbelievable!

I've been learning some Thai from Bob:

Hello, how are you? - Sawadeeka

Cat - Maow

1 - nong

2 - so

3 - sam

4 - si

5 - ha

6 - hok

7 - jet

8 - bet

9 - okt

10 - sip

That's what you get for hanging with the locals all day! What an incredible experience I'm having!

Railay Beach (Krabi)

FYI: I added more pictures to yesterdays blog of Ko Phi Phi (at the bottom).

So, yesterday afternoon, I realized that my friends are in Krabi, not Ko Phi Phi, so I took another cruise boat for an hour and a 1/2 to get to where they are.

When we arrived at Krabi, the boat stopped really far from the shore, and we had the big wooden boats come and pick us up... but they stopped far from the shore too, so we walked in the water with all our backpacks! Only in Thailand!

This area of Thailand makes me think of Jamaica. Everyone loves Bob Marley, smoking weed (yes, smoking weed - you can buy it at the local bars - not that I did!), and it's a much slower pace than Ko Phi Phi.

Last night, I had dinner here (at Skunk Bar) I ordered the food from Mama's kitchen, next door, but ate it here with the manager of the bar. Apparently it's suppossed to be the best in the area. Beautful huh?! I layed on bamboo mats with pillows and there was a beatiful, gigantic tree hanging above me! Incredible!

My dinner mates! The one on the right is Bob (I named him because he has really long dreds, and looks like Marley!) He's the owner of skunk bar (next to Mama's kitchen).

After dinner, I played pool with this local kid. He's 17 and works at this bar. The pool tables in Thailand are HUGE and the balls are a lot smaller. I was horrible! For those of you who know Vinnie Gagliano... This kid was the Thai version of Vinnie! He was awesome!

This is the arm of a guy named Matt, who is visiting from Australia. He got this tattoo bamboo style (earlier that day), where they wrap needles around a stick of bamboo and just go at it! 18 hours of work!

... This is my hotel! It's called the Diamond Cave Resort and Spa and it was 16 dollars a night! My "mini house" is right behind this pool. You can see the yellow in the background.

Here's another picture of it. It's about a 2 minute walk from the beach. :)

Jess, Carlos, Kristen, Gino, and Maria are on a boat excursion until later tonight, so I'm still all alone. Although, I'll be honest... I'm getting used to it, and am being very brave! Today I'm going to a beach that's suppossed to be beautiful! ... not sure the name. I'm also going to see some caves, and hopefully some wild monkeys that live in them. Should be a great day! I'm off to have Thai Pancakes for breakfast.... mmmm mmmm mmmm!

Ko Phi Phi Island

glimpse into my morning! :)

This morning, I took a big cruise type boat to Ko Phi Phi Island and sat on the very front, with my feet dangling off! (Mom, don't worry... I was holding onto a rail the whole way!) It was amazing!

This is where I am RIGHT NOW! Ko Phi Phi Island (Tonsai Beach)

I took a walk along the beach this morning... The water is completely clear and bright turquoise!

Yes, this is a REAL monkey eating a piece of corn, sitting on my shoulder! Only in Thailand...

These long boats are everywhere! Aren't they awesome... and the water is unbelievable!

This is where I sat for a little while this afternoon!

Near the pier... I sat in a hammock here for about 15 minutes while I waited for my boat to take me to Krabi (Railay Beach).